Looper

In the dingy, cruel and stratified future world of 2044 in Rian Johnson's Looper, time travel is not yet possible; a few decades later, though, it has been invented but it is illegal, which sets up an irresistible temptation for those who need to get rid of a body by sending it to a time when it won't exist yet. It's also an unbeatable setup for a sci-fi thriller as intricate and thoughtful as Looper, which takes pleasure in the details of its twists and big ideas, bringing up the usual time travel paradoxes to ask serious questions about the wages of violence and the irreversible nature of fate.

The headier particulars of this future world are explained a remarkably concise voiceover from Joseph Gordon-Levitt's Joe, but there's plenty of showing along with the telling, like the nifty telekinesis that 10% of the population has developed for no apparent reason, or even the slick but believable development of cell phones. Working on a studio budget for the first time, Johnson meticulously details his future world and the laws by which it operates, setting up a rich playground for a story that, for all its twists and rewards, winds up significantly less interesting than the world it's set in.

The biggest problem is in how the film builds to its terrific hook-- Joe is assigned to assassinate his older self (Bruce Willis)-- and then keeps the two Joes separate for almost the entire film, as the older Joe runs off on a mission to change his future and the younger hides out at a farmhouse occupied by tough country chick Sara (Emily Blunt) and her very precocious young son Cid (Pierce Gagnon). By failing to kill the older Joe, or "close his loop," the younger one is under fierce pursuit from the rest of the Looper Network, led by a laid-back and terrifying Jeff Daniels and personified by the bloodhound-like Kid (Noah Segan, overacting fiercely). The stakes are high, and the threat of violence very real-- we see the gory result of what happens early on when Joe's colleague Seth (Paul Dano) fails to close his own loop-- and with the specifics of time travel logic cannily kept under wraps until the end, the fate of the world could very well be at stake.

There are so many different directions to head in a world filled with assassins and time travel and gadgets and Joseph Gordon-Levitt trying to kill Bruce Willis, but Looper veers off into the story at that farmhouse, and specifically the fate of the young, intelligent and potentially dangerous Cid. It all revolves around the kind of "Would you kill a young Hitler?" question that occupies many philosophical conversations, but just isn't dynamic enough to be the center of a film, especially when added to sentimentality and late-breaking optimism that doesn't really fit the hard-boiled vibe of the film's first act. Gordon-Levitt is as good a tough-ass hero as he was in Johnson's debut feature Brick, and it goes without saying that Willis is too; Looper seems to need more of their grime-filtered point of view, a noir with sci-fi leanings that gives over too much to its fantastical side in the end.

Lord knows we've seen enough sloppy, half-baked sci-fi-- some, like 2009's Surrogates, starring Willis himself-- to appreciate something as careful and heady as Looper, which creates a world so lively and well-wrought I'd happily see a dozen more movies set there. Stocked to the gills with strong performances (Tracie Thoms, Garret Dillahunt and Piper Perabo all make a nice impact in limited roles) and action scenes that constantly head in exciting and different directions, Looper is a solid step above most studio sci-fi output, better thought-out than Prometheus and more intellectually engaging than last year's Source Code. But for all its slickness and style, it still can't find the emotional depths it reaches for, and concludes on a giant wave of feeling that rings oddly hollow. The dual challenges of sci-fi are to create an engaging new world and a great story to go in it, and by accomplishing only that first goal, Looper shows glimpses of greatness that never quite add up.

View the original article here

The Master

In his last and possibly best film, There Will Be Blood, Paul Thomas Anderson dove headlong into a character who is a very specific, very important American archetype. Daniel Plainview, who was almost an instant icon, was the American Dream embodied and curdled, a salesman and sociopath who shaped the wilderness of the country in his own image. In his new film The Master, Philip Seymour Hoffman plays a uniquely American character not unlike Daniel Plainview, a man who chooses to shape people rather than nature. But the film's focus is divided between Hoffman's cult leader Lancaster Dodd and Joaquin Phoenix's Freddie Quell, a drifter who falls under Dodd's spell. It gives the film a range of themes and some powerhouse scenes between the two, but also muddles its focus; The Master is beautiful and thought-provoking, but also frustratingly inaccessible and opaque about its meaning.

In a way that's always always been Anderson's style-- who can claim they know the deal with those frogs at the end of Magnolia?-- but The Master is a film about ideas that's also oddly disconnected from them, exploring the nascent cult Lancaster Dodd has founded without ever giving real meaning to his teachings. Hoffman plays Dodd as a fiery but uniquely entertaining man, holding his followers and the audience in rapt attention through vague speeches about achieving higher awareness and the existence of past lives. He is calm when prodding his followers to new "revelations" but quick to anger in the face of skeptics, ebullient on his daughter's wedding day but cold the next. He's mercurial but giving and endlessly confident, which is what makes him such a great leader-- and such a fascinating to follow and never quite understand throughout the film.

But he's nothing compared to Freddie, the film's untamable and menacing heart, a man cut loose from the all-or-nothing morals of World War II into a country that doesn't have room for him. We meet him first on a Navy beach outpost where he takes every joke too far and does insane things like drink rocket fuel; after the war he's left taking portraits at a posh department store, and who can be surprised when that blows up in his face. Like any good American origin myth, Freddie's meeting with Dodd happens entirely by accident, hopping on board a gleaming party boat that's sailing away beneath the Golden Gate Bridge. After a intense kind of psychotherapy called "processing" and some straight talk with Dodd's wife Peggy (Amy Adams), Freddie is brought into Dodd's confidence-- and the insular, unblinking world of The Cause-- before he or we quite understand how it happened.

Despite all the talk of Dodd being a thinly veiled take on L. Ron Hubbard, nothing in The Master reflects that heavily on the real world, and for all the ways we see Freddie and Dodd straining against the confines of post-war American life, their story isn't presented in the mythic tones you might expect. The best parts of The Master are when it condenses down into tinderbox scenes between Freddie and Lancaster, the two of them probing and defying each other, sometimes exploding-- as in an unforgettable scene in a prison cell-- or gazing at each other with the kind of sadness and affection you might expect from lovers. Freddie is not like the devoted, thoughtful followers Dodd has already amassed-- he's like a feral animal, with poor impulse control and disturbing sexual obsessions, and that challenge to overcome his base nature fits neatly into Dodd's rambling teachings about connecting to a higher self.

Shot in rich, detailed 70 mm that adds unexpected depth and clarity to even the simplest scenes, The Master is gorgeous in its careful construction, but also a little distant and hard to grasp. A second viewing seems practically a requirement, like many of Anderson's films, and it's a little painful to write this review now, knowing I haven't yet gotten the whole picture. Based around undeniably great performances, impeccable design and Anderson's unnerving confidence behind the camera, The Master is unforgettable, but like the mercurial men at its center, the harder you try to read into it, the more it slips away into the distance.

View the original article here

Celeste And Jesse Forever

Can Rashida Jones and Andy Samberg become Hollywood?s next power couple? Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes recently split. There?s has to be a void somewhere that needs filling. Better yet, they could replace Brad and Angelina atop the industry?s social hierarchy. We could call them Sam-Jo, or possibly Jo-Berg.

There?ll be time for cutesy nicknames later. For now, let?s just bask in the sarcastic chemistry and tender, emotional concern generated by these sensitively funny comedians in Lee Toland Krieger?s Celeste & Jessie Forever, an unconventional break-up comedy that ? despite its novel premise ? still stumbles into a few too many rom-com ruts.

Jones co-wrote Forever with her close friend Will McCormack, allegedly basing it loosely on their own short-lived romantic experiment. Their experience bleeds through the narrative, juicing scenes with a welcome authenticity as they present a relationship rarely seen on screen.

Celeste and Jesse are caricatures of the relationship formula, and we don?t so much root for their reunion (or realization that it won?t work) so much as we watch them go through predestined motions. Celeste & Jesse often plays as a spewing therapy session where everyone?s given a chance to weigh in on the main couple?s flawed existence ? from Celeste?s gay co-worker (Elijah Wood) to Jesse?s pot-slinging confidante (McCormack). But the movie finds multiple ways to introduce necessary flavor.

There?s an earthy, New-Age, Southern California vibe to the screenplay?s dialogue, which is introspective about the state of its relationships but purposefully superficial ? as if it?s afraid to fully commit. Forever embraces the awkwardness that accompanies various stages of new (and old) relationships. When it accurately portrays the pain of the contemporary dating scene, you completely understand why Celeste and Jesse prefer to linger in the protective bubble of a semi-working relationship. We know Samberg and Jones can be funny, so they don?t try as hard to get the laugh here. Instead, they probe beyond the obvious joke to paint a well-rounded portrait of a difficult relationship. Jones, specifically, is more mature and strong than we?ve seen her be before. And Krieger has a terrific ear for the right pop-alt song to go with his various scenes.

Moments of beauty often elevate Celeste & Jesse above the litany of forgettable rom-coms that reach theaters on an annual basis. But the indie-sensible Sundance hit doesn?t reach for the sky with its revelations, preferring to zero in on the small but relatable problems of two familiar individuals. Its impact might not stay with us forever, but you?ll appreciate what Forever shares about its characters, and about us.

View the original article here

LOTR: The Fellowship Of The Ring Extended Edition 5-Disc Set [Blu-ray]

The Lord of the Rings trilogy is available in multiple formats and editions, each with their own flair, features, and cover art. Depending on whether you are a casual LOTR fan or an avid one, different sets are available to suit your Blu-ray or DVD needs. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Extended Edition 5-Disc single set is for the superfans, featuring the best picture and number of bonus features that money can buy.

The Movie:

The Fellowship of the Ring is one of the most widely recognized books and films in the world. Its story, about Frodo?s journey to destroy the One Ring, is a tale of friendship and trials, joy and pain. In The Fellowship of the Ring, nine beings set out to save the day, and all nine are important to the ultimate outcome. It?s a strategy other hero stories have employed in the past and in the time since, but the bonds forged in The Fellowship of the Ring are especially compelling.

It?s been over a decade since Peter Jackson completed the first film in his trilogy. At the time, studios and fans alike waited?and hoped?expectantly that Jackson?s vision could match the intentions of Tolkien and still provide a great storytelling narrative on film. Anyone who expected a movie to feature every single moment from a thousand page book was probably sorely disappointed by the results, but also probably a little crazy to begin with. Creating a word-for-word copy was never Jackson?s intention. Creating a masterful retelling that maintained the integrity of the novel?s characters and the book?s lush landscape was. If The Fellowship of the Ring hasn?t become a classic already, it will be, and watching the film in 1080 p with remastered audio only serves to supplement its epic status.

Are you looking for Cinema Blend?s reviews of the Extended Edition 5-Disc singles sets for The Two Towers or The Return of the King? We?ve got them!

The Disc:

The 5-disc Fellowship of the Ring set offers bonus features on every disc, which is a feat, but even the menu page is prettily done and easy to navigate through. After finishing the film, fans can look into commentary that runs throughout the entire movie. There are four options to choose from: ?Director and Writer Commentary?, ?Cast Commentary,? ?Production Team Commentary,? and ?Design Team Commentary.? Each of these is interesting in its own right, and features different sorts of information due to the different experiences of the cast and crew members.

It?s fascinating to watch the film from different angles of the process, but it would probably be better to tackle these at different times rather than all in a row, like I foolishly attempted. One cool feature within the commentary: if you are partially through the movie and want to switch from one commentary to the other, you can simply pull up the menu and switch commentary without starting the movie over again! Because the movie is so long, it has to be split up into two discs, like an old school DVD set. This isn?t really inconvenient with the commentary, but it was far more annoying when I was in the middle of watching the flick.

Disc 3 is titled ?From Book to Vision.? This features a slew of extras about Tolkien, Middle-earth, and creating the story in a New Zealand landscape. ?J.R.R. Tolkien ? Creator of Middle-earth,? is a biography of the late author that discusses his early life, his never-ending quest to work on stories about Middle-earth, and his disdain for editing. ?From Book to Script,? ?Visualizing the Story,? ?Designing and Building Middle-earth? pretty much provide every detail concerning creating a visual world from the terms and stories in Tolkien?s works. The latter segment even has a design gallery that can be viewed as a slideshow. Plus, some of those designs even had audio commentary. Seriously, this set takes hours to get through, but it?s quite the adventure.

The final features on Disc 3 are some of the coolest with the set, at least if you are a person that has a compulsion to buy any books that come with a map in the front or back. The segments ?New Zealand as Middle-earth? and ?Middle-earth Atlas? feature maps that are interactive. Details emerge as you click on locations. The map locations in the ?New Zealand? bonus feature look at how filming locations were chosen to fit the landscape of the scene. The ?Middle-earth Atlas? map allows buyers to click on locations and see timeline-specific film sequences, as well as trace Frodo and Gandalf?s journeys.

Disc 4 spends time looking at the actual filmmaking process. ?Filming The Fellowship of the Ring? has several segments within the section. Cast interactions are discussed, and they all sort of crack jokes about Elijah Wood constantly sleeping on set. There are so many great details and stories I don?t have space to relate, here, but needless to say, everyone seems to have been fairly close knit.

Also on Disc 4, there is a really awesome set of post-production sequences that show how scenes were filmed from multiple angles and then placed together into the final footage. You can even watch each camera angle individually. ?Digital Grading? ?Sound and Music? and ?The Road Goes Ever On? offer similar segments that discuss different aspects of putting together the film in detail.

Disc 5 is mainly around for its raw documentary. Different aspects of shooting are uncovered and some of the challenges and interesting shooting tactics used when filming are looked at. This is cut together pretty well, but be forewarned ?The Fellowship of the Ring Behind-the-Scenes? segment means it when it says ?raw footage.?

This set is arduous, but in a fun way. There?s a lot to get through, and even some extras-within-extras, and it is probably best when taken at a leisurely pace. However, if there was ever a series that had the fan base to contain so many extras, the Lord of the Rings trilogy would certainly be it. For fans with a true depth of caring, I can?t imagine a set with more information and appeal.

LOTR: The Fellowship Of The Ring Extended Edition 5-Disc Set [Blu-ray] DetailsStarring: Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Ian McKellan, Christopher Lee, Viggo MortensenProduced by: Peter Jackson, Barrie M. Osborne, Tim Sanders, Fran WalshWritten by: Fran Walsh, Peter Jackson, Philippa Boyens

View the original article here

2016: Obama's America

2016: Obama?s America spends an hour and a half advocating a partially wild theory on the very fringes of the Republican Party. That it does so is irrelevant to its overall quality. Every documentary ever made is biased. From Bill Maher?s Religulous to that incredible HBO special about Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, they?re all created for a specific reason, sometimes with goals as big as denouncing religion and sometimes with goals as small as reminding us how special a rivalry was. The only thing that truly matters, at least from a job-well-done standpoint, is whether or not the final product is effective in delivering its biased message.

In order to accomplish this goal, most documentary filmmakers use humor, popular music, snazzy visual effects and/ or emotional images to keep the pace of their film exciting, even for observers who might not be super on board with the subject matter. Filmmaker Dinesh D?Souza, a college president and former White House employee, mostly eschews these typical conventions in an effort to explain his case more as a scholar would. Large segments of 2016?s runtime are actually just D?Souza talking to the camera, which in a way, is noble. Unfortunately, in this case, it?s also misguided. By limiting his approach, he makes one?s enjoyment of his film almost 100% linked to a willingness to buy into his argument, and since he?s attempting to prove a hypothesis that?s 10% crazy, it?s an uphill battle, to put it nicely.

D?Souza?s argument goes something like this: Barack Obama?s father was a radical, firmly opposed to colonization. He was never around during the future President?s childhood, but Obama?s mother kept his memory alive by instilling his values into their son. This created a strange, fucked-up mindset for the child as he tried to live up to the fake, idealized standards of a man who was not there. Moving around the world before winding up in Hawaii, Obama was exposed to many more militants, all of whom offered their own trinkets of wisdom to go alongside his dad?s. Ultimately, this created a man who is aggressively anti-American and aggressively anti-Colonialist.

Now, here?s the problem. Most of that argument is not scandalous. In fact, given Obama?s extensive writings on the subject and what is in the public record, the non-crazy 90% is proveable. To his credit, D?Souza makes a valiant attempt to do so. He quotes extensively from Obama?s book, travels to Indonesia, Kenya and Hawaii, interviews Barack Sr?s radical buddies and even cites an article the late patriarch wrote, all of which is extremely effective in proving the elder Obama was a shitty father opposed to colonization, and some of the influences around after him were on the fringes of the political left. Unfortunately, that?s not the part of the hypothesis that needs all the evidence.

What needs to be proven is the crazy 10% because it?s one of the boldest claims a documentary has ever tried to make. Think about it for a second. This film argues the President of the United States is intentionally making decisions against America?s best interests. While not inherently impossible, an allegation like that needs a mountain of evidence. It needs a lengthy analysis. What we?re given is a cursory list of policy decisions made under his presidency. D?Souza seems to think they?ll be easily accepted as the second half of a cause and effect argument he started by proving the President has spent lots of time with leftist influences, but even given his upbringing, Obama?s apprehension to get aggressive with Iran puts him in line with most Democrats. What we?re supposed to take as a sign of radicalism just as easily plays as liberalism, and the same thing goes for the President?s views on government spending, stockpiles of weapons and taxes.

Deep within this documentary, there are two separate stories that deserve exhaustive analysis. There?s the story of Barack Sr.?s radicalism, and there?s the story of where America might actually be with four more years under Barack Jr. When D?Souza focuses on the former, he does pretty well, but when he uses the loosest of arguments to try and link to the latter, the connection falls apart.

Biased is okay. Poorly executed is not.

View the original article here

Terminator Anthology [Blu-ray]

How many Terminator movies do you have in your personal collection? At least two? Probably three. How many of you own all four? If you don?t yet have every chapter in John Connor?s decades-spanning war against the machines of the future, Warner has a comprehensive five-disc Blu-ray set, in stores now, that captures everything from the short-tempered Christian Bale to ?I?ll be back.? But are they worth your time and money?

The Movie:

They are both creative powerhouses at this point, but back in 1984, James Cameron and Arnold Schwarzenegger were virtual unknowns still looking to prove themselves in a competitive industry. Yes, Schwarzenegger had success with the Conan franchise, and was popular from the bodybuilding documentary Pumping Iron. But The Terminator catapulted both men to superstardom, and cemented them as action heavies.

So, it?s funny to revisit the original Terminator decades later and realize it?s dated and more than a little cheesy in its execution. Chalk it up to the limitations of 1984. Then, stare in awe at Linda Hamilton?s feathered hair! However, Cameron and Gale Anne Hurd?s screenplay still has a great hook of a sci-fi concept, and the movie taps into the terror generated by a relentless pursuer, particularly one who appears to be unstoppable. Looking back, the first Terminator marked the birth of a franchise with unlimited potential, which Cameron and his team would mine for years to come.

It doesn?t help the original Terminator, in terms of quality control, once you realize that Cameron so drastically surpassed it with his follow up, the superior T2: Judgment Day. What a difference seven years in technological advancements can make! Just as he did with Aliens, Cameron establishes the blueprint for the modern-day sequel ? Bigger! Faster! More! More! More! He turns Linda Hamilton 180 degrees into a feral warrior princess. He introduces a formidable opponent in the T-1000 (Robert Patric). And he dares to ask audiences to embrace a deeper understanding of the mythology, with the introduction of Arnold?s severed arm and the role it plays in the fate of the war against the machines. Plus, the action in T2 is intense. It remains one of the best-paced blockbusters of our time, continually tightening its noose, and using cutting-edge technology to reel us in.

Cameron could have stopped after T2, and the franchise would have been untouchable. In fact, Cameron does stop there. But Hollywood can?t say goodbye to a lucrative franchise, and Arnold was willing to don the leather jacket and dark sunglasses for another go-round. So we get Terminator 3: Rise of the Machine, which isn?t terrible. Director Jonathan Mostow (U-571) is guilty of exchanging heady sci-fi for pedestrian explosions. But there?s a stellar car chase involving driverless police cars, and a clever twist with the introduction of a female Terminator machine, The Terminatrix (Kristanna Loken). But can?t sniff Judgment Day, and it pales when compared. Ah-nold?s T-101 trying to save a younger John Connor (Nick Stahl) ? again ? just feels like lukewarm leftovers. Too many writers means the film has no clear path to the initiation of Skynet and the launch of the war against the machines. The sequel?s relentless, yes, but also noisy as hell. This one could have been so much better.

Then again, after sitting through McG?s dreadful Terminator Salvation, we realize that Machines could have been much worse, as well. Set in 2018, following the launch of Skynet, the fourth and so far final Terminator sequel casts Bale as a grizzled, battle-tested Connor ? leader of the human resistance against the machines. Aside from being set in an ugly, apocalyptic future that doesn?t photograph well, Salvation tosses out chaotic plot threads attempting to bridge this chapter to the previous three films (Anton Yelchin plays Kyle Reese; Bryce Dallas Howard takes over for Claire Danes as Kate Brewster), and McG?s visual trickery isn?t enough to elevate a mess of a monster movie that?s loaded with gunplay but short on suspense.

The Disc:

The grade is for the entire five-disc set, which combs the entire history of the Terminator franchise to pack each Blu-ray with archival footage, commentary tracks, behind-the-scenes clips and promotional materials.

The two movies that boast the most content in the complete set are T2 and Terminator Salvation, and if you think about it, there are legitimate reasons. T2 is the best film in the bunch, so fans are going to want to know a lot more about it. And Salvation is the most recent release, so WB has the most material in which to share (to that end, McG?s Salvation is the only movie in the set that gets the two-disc treatment, with Warner basically cleaning up the version that reached stores shortly after Salvation opened in 2009).

The T2 disc promises more than 8 hours of interactive features for fans to explore, including a very cool storyboard-script mode, trivia and games. There are two director commentary tracks, the second of which boasts 26 different cast and crew members. And the behind-the-scenes videos show how Cameron and his team changed the face of sci-fi effects with the creation of the liquid-metal Terminator ? still one of the coolest villains we?ve seen on screen this year.

If there?s a deficient disc in the set, it?s the one for Rise of the Machines, which has three commentary tracks, an introduction from Schwarzenegger, two featurettes, and a gag reel. But the studio saved pennies by failing to upgrade the audio track on Terminator 3, so it fails to churn our insides the way T2 and even Salvation do when you pop them into your home-theater system and crank up the volume.

Salvation might be my least favorite of the four films, but Warner does the Blu-ray right, featuring the studio?s immersive Maximum Movie Mode (hosted by McG) and including a director?s cut of the 2009 sequel. Elsewhere on this two-disc set, Terminator fans will find features on reinventing the sci-fi- franchise after a long layover, a timeline of the series? mythology, storyboard comparisons, and a lot more. Part of me wishes that such care was paid to the original Terminator, which rounds out the collection with a handful of vintage featurettes. But in all, the love shared on the entire Terminator series gives fans more than enough reason to grab this set, completing the number of films in your collection.

Terminator Anthology [Blu-ray] DetailsStarring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Christian Bale, Nick Stahl, Claire Danes, Sam WorthingtonDirected by: James Cameron, Jonathon Mostow, McGProduced by: Gale Anne Hurd, James Cameron, Hal Lieberman, Joel B. Michaels, Derek Anderson, Moritz Borman, Victor Kubicek Jeffrey SilverWritten by: James Cameron, Gale Anne Hurd, John D. Brancato, Michael Ferris

View the original article here

Last Ounce Of Courage

Over the past few decades, many school systems and small town governments have begun removing religion from state-sponsored properties and functions. Even in most areas of the Heartland, Jesus? birth is no longer considered proper subject matter for public school plays. The 10 Commandments are no longer treated as universal laws to be displayed on courthouses. Christmas breaks have turned into holiday breaks. Even Santa?s flashy red and green lights have been swapped out for the more understated, less objectionable and honestly, far prettier white alternatives.

A certain percentage of people sees this transition to a more secular public society as necessary forward progress to defend minority rights, and another percentage sees it as a stupid, politically correct middle finger directed toward the traditions and values most of the country grew up with. Last Ounce Of Courage was made by people who hold the latter beliefs. It?s a rousing call to arms to stand up to aggressive laical influence. It?s a hard sell, willing to manipulate its characters and story arc to achieve its main goal, which, of course, is to please those who already share its viewpoint.

Last Ounce Of Courage gives us a lot of characters, but two of them define the conflict better than the rest. There?s Bob Revere (Marshall Teague), a combination pharmacist/ small town mayor/ husband/ veteran/ father to a deceased soldier and Warren ?The Hammer? Hammerschmidt (Fred Williamson), a frustrated advocate for an organization very strongly implied to be the ACLU that just wants to keep the state and religion separated. After Bob?s grandson Hunter (Christian Revere) gets in trouble for bringing a Bible to school, the mayor decides it?s time to bring a traditional Christmas celebration back to his town, much to the chagrin of the Hammer, who thinks he should celebrate in his own house.

Throughout the film, the two men jostle back-and-forth as Bob puts up everything from giant trees to crosses, and his foe does everything from explaining his take on the Constitution to filing a lawsuit. It?s a great credit to Courage that it allows the Hammer to speak and answer questions as someone with his belief system might actually do. Unfortunately, it?s a great knock against the film that it seems to assume Bob represents freedom and the Hammer does not.

Freedom means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. From one perspective, the Hammer swooping in and telling the citizens of a small town they can?t celebrate Christmas like they always have is a gross violation of their freedom. From another perspective, a non-believer having to see overt religious displays on the property of a government that?s supposed to be serving him is a violation of his freedom. It?s an extremely complicated issue, but if you take it from Last Ounce, it?s not confusing at all. Men like Bob are trying to hold fast to what they believe in, while men like the Hammer are trying to attack a national holiday and make them feel bad for their beliefs.

This one-sided take on a polarizing issue is the main reason Courage will only really work for the converted, but in a way, that?s kind of a victory. Christian advocates have been producing movies for decades, but the vast majority come across as overtly amateurish. This one really does not. The acting is well within the average range, and the script, while melodramatic and manipulative, has a nice balance between the Bob/ Hammer plot and a public school winter play about space aliens Christian and his friends decide to sabotage. The latter especially brings with it some much-needed levity.

Perhaps because of these positive elements, or maybe because it earned a ringing endorsement from Chuck Norris, the decision was made to take Last Ounce Of Courage far wider than such films normally go. ?Over a million dollars has been generated thus far. ?For those irritated by a loud-mouthed minority trying to change a country that?s always been filled with mostly Christians, adding to that haul will be a pleasant way to spend an hour and a half. ?For those who are profoundly bothered by the first part of that last sentence, however, I?d suggest doing anything else with your time.

View the original article here

Ed Wood [Blu-Ray]

Every filmmaker, at least once in their career, should make an Ed Wood. And I don?t mean a crazed biopic about an eccentric storyteller. I mean a heart-and-soul investment into a behind-the-scenes feature about the business we call show. Tim Burton?s Ed Wood is infused with love, admiration, wonder and awe for movies and the movie-making process. And who can?t appreciate that?

The Movie:

It?s be easy to dismiss Ed Wood as a clunky misfire. At times, Burton?s biopic of his beloved Z-list director Ed Wood Jr. (Johnny Depp) looks as purposefully chintzy as Wood?s own cinematic endeavors. Yet with Burton?s film, it?s always charming as opposed to cheap. It?s corner-cutting with a purpose, and Wood fills in those gaps with eccentricities and admiration, which helps patch scenes together.

Ed Wood is the movie Burton was able to make because his Batman films and Edward Scissorhands (also with Depp) performed admirably at the box office. The film traces the rise of Wood, a schlocky wannabe director whose persistence ? and offbeat friendship with a fading Bela Lugosi (Oscar winner Martin Landau) ? earns him a shot at helming a feature-length creature story. History tells us Wood?s films (such as Plan 9 from Outer Space) went over like an alcoholic drink at a Baptist convention. But Depp?s passion and unchecked enthusiasm, coupled with Burton?s appreciation for Wood?s approach, makes Ed Wood one of the most personal and honest pictures in Burton?s filmography.

It?s not hard to see Burton?s personal journey reflected in Wood?s as the cult director, then a no-name, trying to let people tell his unique stories in his preferred medium (and hopefully keep his strange friends employed). ?Filmmaking is not about the tiny details. It?s about the big picture,? Wood tells his skeptical producers at one point. It?s one of the many hard truths about the film industry sprinkled through Scott Alexander?s script that documents the blood, sweat and lunacy that goes into the making of a single film. Plus, the Orson Welles cameo near the film?s end is fantastically entertaining. Ed Wood should be required viewing in film schools across the country. If there?s any justice, it already is.

And yet, when you peel back the spot-on industry jabs, Ed Wood?s just the tender, unconventional story of a gentle soul trying to feel comfortable in his own skin. Touching performances by Depp, Bill Murray (as the quirky creative backer), Landau and Sarah Jessica Parker as Wood?s suffering wife prevent the film from devolving into a cynical industry spoof. And while Wood?s own material would suggest a left turn into wacky camp, Burton remained more reserved here than he did in his next picture, Mars Attacks!

If you?re a Burton fan but haven?t yet caught Wood, use this as an opportunity to gain insight into the creative process of the director behind Sweeny Todd, Dark Shadows and Sleepy Hollow. It?s Wood?s life story, sure. But it?s Burton?s, as well.

The Disc:

Burton?s decision to film Ed Wood in black and white angered his studio back in 1994, but it leads to a spectacular visual transfer in 2012. Much like animation, B&W photography comes across as crisp, vivid and alive on Blu-ray. The grain looks intentional (it likely is), and the DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio transfer is powerful. The Blu-ray has a very good transfer, improving on Burton?s original effort on every technical level.

The Blu-ray extras, however, are not an improvement so much as they are a simple cut-and-paste from previous Ed Wood releases. That?s great if you don?t already own Wood on DVD, but kind of a bust if you?ve seen the five deleted scenes (my favorite remains a peek into Tor Johnson?s home life), the strange Howard Shore music video, or the ?Pie Plates Over Hollywood? feature that dives into the film?s production challenges.

Fans might get excited over ?Let?s Shoot This F$#%&*r,? though it?s really just pre-recorded introductions from Depp on the Wood set. And the disc rounds out with a commentary track that includes insight from Burton, Landau, and several creative collaborators.

If you don?t yet own Ed Wood, this Blu-ray is a must. However, because of the lack of original extras, if you happen to have it in your collection already, the visual and audio upgrade (while impressive) is not enough to merit a purchase. Spend wisely.

Distributor: Disney/Buena VistaStarring: Johnny Depp, Martin Landau, Bill Murray, Sarah Jessica Parker, Lisa MarieProduced by: Michael Lehmann, Denise Di NoviWritten by: Scott Alexander, Larry Karaszewski

View the original article here